Have you seen Federal Maritime Commission Chair Richard Lidinsky walking around Capitol Hill lately? Probably not, if Rep. Darrell Issa’s sources are correct.
Issa, who chairs the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, suggests Lidinsky has a personal driver to transport him from FMC headquarters all the way down the street to the Metro. “According to information we have received,” Issa wrote in a May 9 letter that was provided to Yeas & Nays, “the FMC procured an official car and chauffer used mostly to drive you from FMC headquarters to Union Station, a distance of approximately three blocks.”
The five-page letter (replete with footnotes) details a list of grievances with Lidinsky’s management of the Federal Maritime Commission, an organization that doesn’t exactly have a reputation for GSA-style Vegas conferences or other hijinx abroad. But Issa writes that the FMC “may be an agency in crisis” as a result of the politicization of the office and misuse of tax dollars. Most of the charge centers on a new pro-union policy implemented at the Port of Los Angeles, but Issa suggests that two employees who objected to the policy were retaliated against.
He makes a curious request: that Lidinsky document all the artistic objects bought by his office since 2009. In the letter, Issa requested “a complete accounting of the agency’s purchase of any decorative or commemorative items such as paintings, sculptures, works of art, furniture, or coins on behalf of the Office of the Chairman.”
What potential treasure trove hides at the Federal Maritime Commission? Perhaps an Alexander Calder mobile, hanging in the lobby? A set of mint buffalo nickels on Lidinsky’s desk? Issa’s office confirmed to Yeas & Nays that the chairman did send the letter but declined to comment further on the record.
Lidinsky’s office also declined to elaborate on the situation but did say they are “fully cooperating with Chairman Issa’s request letter” and are working with their inspector general on a review of the office vehicle.
